Happy New Year - 2021

The first day of a new year can hold a real mix of emotions. It can be filled with hope, ambition and motivation for the future. It can also leave us feeling sadness and regret of the year that’s past, as well as also holding fear of what lies ahead.

“If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results.” ~Jack Dixon

I’ve always found January a funny month, full of a range of different emotions, and I have a feeling this January might be even more of a mixed bag. Having said that, I enjoy January 1st, as I like to view it as a blank page of our new story.

I am pushing myself to see the light of this New Year, to allow it to be a refreshing time for me to focus on all the things I perhaps let slide when life gets busy. A new year wont miraculously erase any of the problems we’ve faced, but with the start of a new year, brings hope and with it a renewed and recharged desire for us to work towards living our best lives.

2020, as we are all more than aware, was hard, strange, sad and confusing all in one. But it was also immensely heart-warming, it brought people together, we actually spoke to our neighbours, we realised how lucky we truly are to have our NHS and other key workers. On a personal level, I found this year one of self-confidence and self-belief. I walked away from things that were not serving me and believed in myself to do what was right for me and my family, took chances and prioritised my mental and physical well-being.

What does 2021 look like for you?

So, what does 2021 look like for you? That can seem a daunting question, one we may choose not to answer, but actually looking at what this year looks like for you, the good and the bad, will help you decide what you want and need to do, to create the life you want. It would be unrealistic to say this New Year won’t be challenging, hard and unsettling, but that doesn’t mean we can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel and look at ways to better ourselves and our lives.

What can we do? I don’t particularly like resolutions, they put pressure on ourselves and quite often are not sustainable and end with making us feel like failures. I believe one reason resolutions often don’t work is that we wait till January 1st to start them, whereas really we should chose to adapt and change throughout the year by listening to our bodies and minds.

Instead of Resolutions?

This year, instead of making to do lists, resolutions etc, reflect on the things you feel you already do well and decide to continue with these. Then be really honest about the things in your life that are not making you happy, you’ll realise no amount of quick fix resolutions will solve these, however you may then be able to explore how to step by step change and adapt your lifestyle to make yourself happier and healthier.

Find and decide the things that make you feel positive and happy and make these your priority. These could be walking, swimming, reading...simple things, but these should be what you focus on.

Most importantly however you chose to start your new year, remember to show kindness to yourself and others. A book I will be re-reading this week is the ‘Four Agreements’ by Don Miguel Ruiz. It gives 4 ideas of how to live a positive life.

They are:

• Be impeccable with your word.

• Don’t take anything personally.

• Don’t make assumptions.

• Always do your best.

I love this book and for me, I try and always live by these four mottos, it’s definitely not always easy, but as number 4 says ‘try your best’ and remember we are all human, and we all make mistakes, we can all have bad days, low days, but things will get better, we just need to always be mindful of our own behaviours.

We are living through a time that is completely unknown, and quite daunting. However, despite this, I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.